Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father.
Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
What Matthew 5:16 means
This comes in the Sermon on the Mount, just after Jesus calls his followers the light of the world. The instruction is not to become light but to stop hiding it.
The purpose clause is what keeps it from vanity: so that they may glorify your Father. Visible goodness is meant to point past the person doing it. Memorised, it is a useful check on both extremes — hiding faith entirely, or performing it for credit.
Related topics
Questions about Matthew 5:16
What does Matthew 5:16 mean?
It means living so that the good you do is visible to others, not for your own reputation but so that they give glory to God.
Does Matthew 5:16 conflict with doing good in secret?
No. Matthew 6 warns against doing good *to be seen*. The difference is motive: here the aim is that God is glorified, not that you are admired.